Southampton’s season started on Saturday in the same way that last season ended; with a 4-1 defeat. After a positive start that saw James Ward-Prowse give his side the lead, Southampton could not hold off Antonio Conte’s men for long and succumbed to a bruising defeat. It was a case of new formation, same old problems for the Saints and fans would not have got carried away after the 12th minute opener; they have read this script before. Since Ralph Hasenhüttl took charge of the club in December 2018, no team in the Premier League has dropped more points from winning positions. In fact, they have dropped a staggering 74 points from winning positions in that time. In a league of such fine margins, the side’s tendency to collapse and give up leads so regularly is a real problem.
Southampton lined up in their new look 352 formation, which was a feature of their preseason preparation. Hasenhüttl has changed his approach slightly this season in a bid to make his team more solid; although the irony of this is not lost after their opening day drubbing. Rather than high-octane pressing all over the pitch, Southampton looked to be operating in a mid-block. This means that, generally speaking, Hasenhüttl’s side do not squeeze quite as high up the pitch and instead use the opposition midfield players receiving the ball as the trigger to their pressing. One of the main issues Southampton had when using Hasenhüttl’s preferred 4222 formation and adopting a gegenpress was that once their opponents had beat this press they could carve through Southampton with ease and within a matter of seconds could have a numerical advantage over a very exposed Southampton centre-back pairing. This is arguably one of the main reasons that the club have been on the receiving end of some really heavy defeats in recent seasons; two 9-0 defeats a damaging reminder of this.
No one will be more disappointed than Hasenhüttl that a summer of preparation and work on a new system culminated in a heavy defeat on Saturday, although this can be caveated slightly by the fact that Conte’s men are expected to have a very strong season. The Austrian admitted after the game that the reason he normally gets his Southampton side to play pressing football high up the pitch is to keep the ball as far away from their goal as possible as they are not particularly strong when defending their box. It is strange then, that with no new players from last season starting in the back three or at wingback, the team set up in a mid-block which invites pressure onto the defence and requires a lot of defensive concentration. Yan Valery, Jan Bednarek, and Mohammed Salisu were the chosen three central defenders, all of whom are very susceptible to lapses in concentration and nothing demonstrated this more than Tottenham’s third goal, which killed any hopes Southampton had of getting back into the game. Bednarek failed to spot the run of Emerson Royal who glided past him on the blind side and played the ball across the six-yard box where Salisu inexplicably turned into his own net despite having no Tottenham attackers in his vicinity.
Perhaps we should not be too critical at this stage. As alluded to, Conte has built a very strong Tottenham side in his short time in charge and Southampton won’t be the last team to come away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium very disappointed this season. Now is not the time to panic, but the game at home to Leeds United on Saturday already feels like a big one, particularly for the new formation which has drawn some criticism from fans already.
One player in a Southampton shirt who saw his stock increase dramatically at the weekend was Roméo Lavia. The 18-year-old made his Premier League debut following his move from Manchester City in the summer and immediately looked at home in the English top flight. Lavia anchored the midfield, despite Oriol Romeu’s presence in the starting 11, and played with the ease of someone who had 300 Premier League games under their belt. He was composed in possession, comfortable bypassing the opposition press through either passing or dribbling with the ball, and finished the game with a pass accuracy of 96%. Of all the midfielders who started in the Premier League at the weekend it was Lavia who boasted the highest pass accuracy on match week one. Lavia was also very effective out of possession, winning seven of his eight duels, although this became increasingly difficult as Southampton were forced to chase the game.
This sequence highlights Lavia’s strengths both defensively and in his composure and ability to get out of trouble.
As the ‘six’ in this system, one of Lavia’s jobs is to act as a screen in front of his defence. Harry Kane likes to drop deep to receive the ball with his back to goal and create a disjointed backline as one of the central defenders has to follow him. Lavia was constantly positioning himself between the ball and Kane to prevent this from happening as can be seen here.
With no angle for a pass to Kane, Ryan Sessegnon turns back and plays the ball to one of Tottenham’s central defenders and the ball is worked to the opposite side in a bid to break Southampton’s mid-block. By the time the ball is on Tottenham’s right, Lavia has shuffled across and is again screening the centre of the pitch to protect his backline.
The ball ends up with Dejan Kulusevski. The swede is predominantly left-footed, so Moussa Djenepo blocks off the option wide, thus showing Kulusevski inside. This directs him into Lavia, who pinches the ball off of Kulusevski.
Lavia knows that if he loses possession on the edge of the box he will be putting his side in real danger. However, there isn’t an obvious safe pass available to him and he is facing his own goal. This is where Lavia’s dribbling ability shines through, as he turns to avoid Kulusevski as well as the onrushing Kane. Kane fouls Lavia and the referee gives a free-kick, relieving the pressure.
It is not just with his good footwork and burst of pace that Lavia can get out of trouble, though. He is also very good at finding a forward pass that puts his side on the front foot, despite being under pressure.
A Tottenham attack breaks down and Kyle Walker-Peters is looking for a pass. Lavia is available centrally in the defensive third. His body is facing his own goal, but in anticipation of receiving the ball he is looking for passing options up the pitch by scanning.
The ball is rolling towards Lavia who is quickly being pressed by a Tottenham player. He could take a touch and look to turn out with the ball, but this would be risky. Instead he opens up his body and plays a sweeping ball around the corner to Joe Aribo, who lined up as a striker for this game.
Aribo receives the pass under pressure from Eric Dier who is playing as the central centre back. By knowing where his striker is before receiving the ball, Lavia has turned defence into attack with one pass and bypassed the Tottenham midfield.
Southampton face Leeds United in their first home game of the season at the weekend and will be hoping that Lavia and co. can improve their fortunes. Following on from last season, Southampton have now won one game in their last 13. Hasenhüttl needs to find a way to end this dismal run and the game against Leeds presents an opportunity to do just that. The 352 formation is expected to be favoured again, but the personnel may well be different. Adam Armstrong offered very little against Tottenham and could lose his place, while Romain Perraud could come in for Moussa Djenepo in the left wingback position. Stuart Armstrong will also be pushing for a start, as will central defender Armel Bella-Kotchap.
